Blocking bets...

I'm not completely sure on how to use them. Are these used in cases where you think you may have the best hand, but you might be second best but want to see a showdown as inexpensively as possible?

How large should they be, and in what situations are they useful?

They're useful when you're out of position on the river and they can stop potential bluffs that you may not want to call. This way you get to price the showdown, and if you're raised big you can fold your hand. I usually 1/2 pot or 1/3 the pot if it's pretty big, but i'm not sure how one determines the standard size. I'd think that it can be calculated by the percentage of how often you think you'd be ahead in that particular situation. Bascially, if you are going to call a certain amount on the river, you might as well block it and bet it yourself.

Also, I think blocking bets can sometimes be useful if you're on a draw on the turn and you want to price your own draw, if you think that a check would make your opponent bet the pot and kill your odds. This can indicate that you may be slowplaying your hand, you'll gain a tiny amount of fold equity, in addition to getting a cheap draw and some disguise of your hand.

Blocking bets are made from OOP on the river.

My guidlines are simple:
If my blocking bet is raised, I give opponent credit for having a better hand than me.

So basically, I bet the maximum I am willing to lose. Maybe a 1/4 or 1/3 pot size.

1/4 - 1/3 blocking bets will look very weak unless you are making such small value bets with monsters....and if that is the case I think you are losing alot of value on your monsters.

Against aware opponents you are probably asking to be raised with those blocking bets.

Good suggestion on the size of a blocking bet.

Is it just me, or did you just add a bunch of words to my post concerning monster hands?

Originally Posted by Pelion

Against aware opponents you are probably asking to be raised with those blocking bets.

It's my observation that into the 100NL level very few players are capable of this. Particularly in the PokerStars game where under-bets are routine.

The biggest case for these sorts of bets is when you're on the river and worse hands call but won't bet. Particularly when your response to a raise isn't a close decision.

Many people misuse blocking bets. For example, unless you have a read on a guy it is unlikely that he is going to bet more than the pot after you check the river. It does happen, but not as much as you might think. Therefore, if you bet 1/2 the pot, you are putting yourself into a situation where it is tough not to call a minimum raise (another half of the pot) with any kind of hand considering the pot odds. I'm not saying you can't fold, but its pretty tough not to. A lot of times its best to just check and let the other guy go ahead and bet 1/2 to the pot and then make a call.

With all of this being said, if you time a block bet well against an uber aggressive player, it can save you a lot of money. But, in general, you can get away w/ just calling down your opponent if you are moderately strong.